81 Hawaiian Proverbs Conveying the Wisdom of the Islands

Step into the world of Hawaiian wisdom through their powerful proverbs.

These Hawaiian proverbs are like treasure chests, holding the secrets of the islands’ knowledge passed down through time. Each proverb is a small but mighty lesson, showing how Hawaiians see the world and live their lives.

Let’s dive into these sayings and discover the profound wisdom they carry from the heart of the islands.

1. He kāʻeʻaʻeʻa pulu ʻole no ka heʻenalu.
Translation: A good surfer will not get wet.

2. Aia nō i ke kō a ke au. 
Translation: Wherever the current takes us.

3. ʻAʻa i ka hula, waiho ka hilahila i ka hale.
Translation: When one wants to dance the hula, let bashfulness be left at home.

4. Mōhala i ka wai ka maka o ka pua.
Translation: Unfolded by the water are the faces of flowers.

5. ʻAʻohe pau ka ʻike i ka hālau hoʻokahi.
Translation: All knowledge is not taught in the same school.

6. Mahalo i ka mea i loaʻa.
Translation: Be thankful for what you have.

7. Komo mai kāu māpuna hoe.
Translation: Put in your dip of the paddle. (Pitch in.)

8. Oi kau ka lau, E hana I ola Honua.
Translation: Live your life while the sun’s still shining.

9. Uwē ka lani, ola ka honua.
Translation: When the sky weeps, the earth lives. 

10. O Hawaii no ka aina maikai.
Translation: After all, Hawaii is the best land.

11. Ku’ia kahele aka na’au ha’aha’a.
Translation: A humble person walks carefully so as not to hurt others.

12. Ua ka ua, ola ka nohona o ka ʻāina kula.
Translation: The rain pours, life comes to the plains.

13. ‘U’uku ka hana, ‘u’uku ka loa’a.
Translation: Little work, little gain.

14. Nana ka maka, ho’olohe ka pepeiao, pa’a ka waha, hana ka lima. 
Translation: Observe with the eyes, listen with the ears, don’t talk, work with your hands.

15. Ola i ka wai a ka ʻōpua.
Translation: There is life in the water from the clouds.

16. He ali’i ka āina; he kauwā ke kanaka.
Translation: The land is chief; man is its servant.

17. He kawa ia naʻu i lele a ʻopu.
Translation: That is a diving place in which I dived without making a splash. (Said of something that is easy to do because one is accustomed to doing it.)

18. Ua ma uke ea o ka ‘āina I ka pono.
Translation: The life of the land is preserved in righteousness.

19. Hele mai ho’ohiwahiwa.
Translation: To honor.

20. Pūpūkāhi i holomua.
Translation: Unite in order to progress.

21. Aia ke ola i ka hana.
Translation: Life is in labor.

22. Ku pākū ka pali o Nihoa i ka makani.
Translation: The cliff of Nihoa stands as a resistance against the wind. (Said of one who stands bravely in the face of misfortune.)

23. He kehau ho`oma`ema`e ke aloha.
Translation: Love is like a cleansing dew.

24. A’ohe hana nui ka alu’ia.
Translation: No task is too big when done together.

25. E hele me ka pu’olo.
Translation: Always make every person, place or condition better than before. 

26. E ʻai i ka mea i loaʻa.
Translation: What you have, eat. (Be satisfied with what you have.)

27. Kuhi no ka lima, hele no ka maka.
Translation: Where the hands move, there let the eyes follow.

28. Aia a kau ka i‘a i ka wa‘a, mana‘o ke ola.
Translation: One can think of life after the fish is in the canoe.

29. Pili kau pili ho’oilo.
Translation: Together in the dry season, together in the wet season. (Said of loving companionship.)

30. Ka hana a ka mākua, o ka hana no ia a keiki.
Translation: What parents do, children will do.

31. Ua ola no i ka pane a ke aloha.
Translation: There is life in a kindly reply.

32. E lawe i ke aʻo a mālama, a e ʻoi mau ka naʻauao.
Translation: He who takes his teachings and applies them increases his knowledge.

33. I ola no ke kino i ka mā’ona o ka ‘ōpū.
Translation: The body enjoys health when the stomach is well filled.

34. Kahuna nui hale kealohalani makua.
Translation: Love all you see, including yourself.

35. I Kahiki ka ua, ako ‘ē ka hale.
Translation: While the rain is still far away, thatch the house.

36. E kūlia i ka nu’u.
Translation: Strive to reach the highest.

37. Ele’ele Hilo ē, panopano i ka ua hana mao ‘ole.
Translation: Dark is Hilo, clouded with the rain. (Hilo is always rainy.)

38. E wehe i ka umauma i ākea.
Translation: Open out the chest that it may be spacious. (Be generous and kind to all.)

39. He manu ke aloha, ‘a‘ohe lālā kau ‘ole.
Translation: Love is like a bird — there is no branch that it does not perch upon.

40. Ka lā i ka Mauliola.
Translation: The sun at the source of life.

41. I ho’okahi kahi ke aloha.
Translation: Be one in love.

42. E hoomau maua kealoha.
Translation: May our love last forever.

43. E kuahui like i ka hana.
Translation: Let everybody pitch in and work together.

44. ʻAʻohe hana i nele i ka uku.
Translation: No deed lacks a reward.

45. He ‘onipa‘a ka ‘oiā‘i‘o.
Translation: Truth is not changeable.

46. Aloha mai nō, aloha aku: ʻo ka huhū ka mea e ola ʻole ai.
Translation: When love is given, love should be returned; anger is the thing that gives no life.

47. Aloha Aku No, Aloha Mai No
Translation: I give my love to you, you give your love to me.

48. A‘o i ke koa, e a‘o no i ka holo.
Translation: When one learns to be a warrior, one must also learn to run.

49. Lawe i ka ma’alea a ka ‘ono’ono.
Translation: Acquire skill and make it deep.

50. Hoʻokahi ka ʻilau like ʻana.
Translation: Wield the paddles together. 

51. Mai ka piko o ke po’o a ka poli o ka wāwae, a l’a ma na kihi ‘ehā o ke kino.
Translation: From the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, and the four corners of the
body. (An expression used in prayers of healing. The four corners are the shoulders and
hips; between them are the vital organs of the body.)

52. ‘A‘ohe pu‘u ki‘eki‘e ke ho‘ā‘o ‘ia e pi‘i.
Translation: No cliff is so tall that it cannot be scaled.

53. He liʻiliʻi ka ʻuku lele, naue naʻe kino nui.
Translation: A flea may be small but it can make a big body squirm.

54. He lohe ke ola, he kuli ka make.
Translation: To hear is life, to turn a deaf ear is death. (It pays to heed sound advice.)

55. Kulia i ka nu’u.
Translation: Strive for the summit.

56. E lauhoe mai na wa`a; i ke ka, i ka hoe; i ka hoe, i ke ka; pae aku i ka ‘aina.
Translation: Everybody paddle the canoes together; bail and paddle, paddle and bail, and the shore will be reached.

57. Hoʻokahi nō lā o ka malihini.
Translation: A stranger only for a day. (After the first day as a guest, one must help with the work.)

58. Ua ola loko i ke aloha.
Translation: Love gives life within.

59. He ‘olina leo ka ke aloha.
Translation: Joy is in the voice of love.

60. Aia ke ola i ka waha; aia ka make i ka waha.
Translation: Life is in the mouth; death is in the mouth. (Spoken words can enliven, spoken words can destroy.)

61. E aloha kekahi i kekahi.
Translation: Love one another.

62. O na hoku no na kiu o ka lani.
Translation: The stars are the eyes of heaven.

63. A ‘ohe loa i ka hana a ke aloha.
Translation: Distance is ignored by love.

64. Mai makaʻu i ka hana, makaʻu i ka moloā.
Translation: Don’t fear work, fear laziness.

65. ʻAʻohe hana nui ke alu ‘ia.
Translation: No task is too big when done together by all.

66. No Keia La, No Keia Po, A Mau Loa.
Translation: From this day, from this night, forever more.

67. ‘Ike aku, ‘ike mai, kōkua aku kōkua mai; pela iho la ka nohona ‘ohana.
Translation: Recognize and be recognized, help and be helped; such is family life.

68. Ma ka hana ka ʻike.
Translation: Knowledge is in the work.

69. Aia i ka ʻōpua ke ola: he ola nui, he ola laulā, he ola hohonu, he ola kiʻekiʻe.
Translation: Life is in the clouds: great life, broad life, deep life, elevated life. (The reader of omens knows by their shape and color whether clouds promise rain and prosperity, or warn of disaster.)

70. Aloha au iā ‘oe.
Translation: I love you.

71. He lawai`a no ke kai papa`u, he pokole ke aho; he lawai’a no ke kai hohonu he loa ke aho.
Translation: A fisherman of shallow seas uses only a short line; a fisherman of the deep sea uses a long line.

72. E lei kau, e lei ho‘oilo i ke aloha.
Translation: Love is worn like a wreath through the summers and the winters.

73. Ma ka hana ka ʻike.
Translation: In working one learns.

74. Onipa`a.
Translation: (Be) steadfast.

75. O ka makapo wale no ka mea hapapa i ka pouli.
Translation: Only the blind gropes in the darkness.

76. He po’i na kai uli, kai ko’o,‘a‘ohe hina pūko‘a.
Translation: Though the sea be deep and rough, the coral rock remains standing. (Said of one who remains calm in the face of difficulty.)

77. ʻUmia ka hanu.
Translation: Hold the breath. (Be patient. Don’t give up too easily.)

78. Lawe i ka ma`alea a ku`ono`ono.
Translation: Acquire skill and make it deep.

79. Ua kuluma ke kanaka i ke aloha.
Translation: It is natural for people to behave in a loving way.

80. Ho’i Hou Ke Aloha.
Translation: Let us fall in love all over again.

81. Aia no i ka mea e mele ana.
Translation: Let the singer select the song.

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